Synopsis: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. The much-anticipated motion picture event is the second of two full-length parts. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.
Release Date: July 15, 2011 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Fantasy, Action
Film Review
Production
For the past 10 years, Harry Potter fans around the world have patiently awaited the end to the epic story that is Harry Potter. Part One of The Deathly Hallows amazed audiences, while also satiating their desires for the final half of the final chapter to be released months later. Well, the longest eight months of their lives draw to a close on July 15, 2011, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two hits theatres. It is with great pleasure, and from one fan to another, to report that the second part of the final chapter will not disappoint.
As a continuation of part one, as these are two parts to one whole of a film, only a mere couple of minutes overlaps between the first and second halves. The unforgettable vision of Voldemort taking the elder wand from the crypt of Dumbledore starts the film off, and from there there is no slowing down as Harry, Hermione, and Ron seek out the final Horcruxes and vow to fight against Voldemort for the last time; with the help of everyone else who has survived thus far in the story.
Part Two of The Deathly Hallows is a movie about sacrifice in the midst of war. Of people coming together in the hardest of times to protect their freedom and ensure a future for themselves and future generations. It is full of action, romance, and emotional highs and lows that will at once have you weeping and a moment later cheering, or screaming at the horror of fates that befall certain beloved characters. No one is safe in the final battle, and loyalties will be tested, truths revealed, and everyone pushed to unbelievable limits.
To fully enjoy The Deathly Hallows: Part Two you do need to be a true fan on the series. Reason being, it starts out with the assumed idea that anyone watching the film has seen part one, as well as every other Harry Potter film. Aside from the quick overlap of scenes from Part One there is no backstory given, this is a continuation, not a sequel. That being said, it can feel a bit disjointed in the beginning as you must recall what came before quickly in order to know where the characters are now. After this bit of a rough patch everything sails smoothly and the film becomes a great fluid being of current plot lines and flashbacks to the important moments that came before in prior films that are now finding their closure in the finale.
Every scene is crafted masterfully, shot by shot, effect by effect, and performance by performance. The maturity of the acting capabilities of all of the cast reach their limits, and there are plenty of triumphant moments–GO NEVILLE!–to counterbalance the tragedy that befalls many. The Harry Potter story has grown darker with every book, and in turn, each film, and The Deathly Hallows finds the greatest of the darkness and puts it on display. Even the pain Voldemort feels gives rise to a strange empathy from the viewer; memories of the troubled Tom Riddle are evoked from deep within. Harry’s moment with the resurrection stone breaks your heart, as does his short time with Dumbledore.
The greatest part of all, in my humble opinion, has nothing to do with the war, or with Harry and Ron and Hermione, or Neville, or Voldemort, or Bellatrix, nor Malfoy. The highlight of the film goes to Snape (Alan Rickman). The creation of his memories in the Pensieve is done incredibly well, and there is such great emotion during the montage of memories from Alan Rickman that one can scarcely understand the wealth of emotion that falls over you as you watch each truth unfold frame by frame. Snape has always been the quiet yet visible villain in the story, where Voldemort was the lingering evil presence beckoning death. In this final chapter, Snape is given the chance to say, and show, all that has been hidden for many years. As a fan of the books, and films, it will come as one of the greatest moments in Harry Potter adaptation history.
As the end of the film draws near, the epic battle has played out and Voldemort vanquished the melancholy of the moment does settle in. This is the end, and as you knew it was coming it still pangs you nonetheless to realize this will be the last time all of the Harry Potter family graces the screen. At least one leaves knowing that the epic story was given an epic treatment on the big screen as it was given on the page. Farewell Harry Potter.
Special Effects
Hogwarts lays in ruins, decimated by warring wands. Harry, Hermione, and Ron narrowly escape death in a raging fire led by the head of a snake in the room of requirement. Stone warriors drop from the Hogwart’s walls to protect the school from the charging death eaters. Professor McGonagall begins a tidal wave of spells that create a crystal, lightning tinged barrier to protect Hogwarts from Voldemort’s magical powers. A dragon at Gringott’s flees his cavernous dungeon to fly high in the sky for freedom. These are a mere sampling of the special effects in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two. There are more, one more spectacular than the next; each done to perfection. This is a film for the senses, with your eyes happily delighting in the wonderment of the world created where suspension of disbelief is not necessary because from the moment you enter the world of Harry Potter no other world exists.
Score and Soundtrack
There is beauty in the destruction, as well as the victorious. Alexandre Desplat’s score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is nothing short of magnificent. The music complements each scene, tidal wave of emotion, impending threats and great escapes in such a manner words cannot do it justice. Just as your eyes are transfixed on the images, your ears are awash with an imagined melody to guide you along on the journey each character faces.
Snape’s slow ascent up the stairs to find Lily laying on the floor, Harry alone in his crib with tears streaming down his face, marks a moment of pure musical bliss amidst the debilitating pain. The final image of the three characters we, as viewers and readers, have spent such a great deal of time with, invested so much in their adventures, gives way to an interlude that recognizes the joy and pain of the final moment we will spend with them. The Deathly Hallows is the only Harry Potter film Alexandre Desplat has worked on, and it must be said that a better choice could not have been made to make certain the end was as great as it could possibly be.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): David Yates
- Screenwriters: J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves
- Screenwriter(s): Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Michael Gambon (Professor Dumbledore), Alan Rickman (Professor Snape), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Clemence Poesy (Fleur Delacour), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)
- Editor(s): Mark Day
- Cinematographer: Eduardo Serra
- Production Designer(s): Stuart Craig
- Music Score: Alexandre Desplat
- Country Of Origin: USA
